A child eating cereal and milk from a bowl.

How To Make Spiritual Rhythms A Part Of Your Family’s Fall Routine

While the world looks different this fall, my guess is that you are probably already planning your fall family routine. As a former teacher, and now as a parent, I’ve seen how great routine can be for kids in the fall. 

Much of a kid’s routine revolves around schooling and education, but there’s a bigger question too …

What’s your plan to build character and faith in your child this fall? How will they grow spiritually so they build a faith that lasts?

At Connexus, here’s what we’ve learned is the key – it’s easier than you think.

How do you do it?

Build spiritual rhythms inside your existing routine.

What is a spiritual rhythm?

Spiritual rhythms are the times in your everyday life where you choose to take a moment to focus on faith.

Routines build stability, and spiritual rhythms build character.

So what does this look like?

You might be surprised to know that the model of how to build spiritual rhythms inside your daily routines is outlined in Deuteronomy 6:5-7, where God shares this strategy with the Israelites:

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”

What I love about this passage is that it outlines a rhythm for you to talk to your child about their faith right in the midst of your existing routine. It makes Jesus a part of everyday life.

There are really 4 rhythms outlined in this passage that I want to share. The key is to start simple and remember, they aren’t new routines but rhythms you can build into your current routines.

fall routine for your family

Rhythm 1: At Home

It’s important that your child see that your faith isn’t just a church thing, but that it’s personal to you (especially now). 

What’s interesting about the time we are living in is that more of church happens at home, so Connexus provides a number of resources to help you make this possible. You can find these at ConnexusChurch.com/Family and Sunday mornings is a great, routine time to use them.

If you choose one rhythm to start with, Sunday mornings together is an important one.

For us, the kitchen table has always been a key spot for developing faith at home. When our boys were babies, it was about praying before a meal. Simple. And that hasn’t changed for us now.

Now that our kids are older, Leslie and I work to steer the conversation towards how their day has been and how we can pray. I’ll also sometimes bring them a scenario and ask for their spiritual perspective. All of it with the goal of engaging in spiritual conversations informally at home.

Some days the table is a struggle, but we take what we can get, and regroup for another day.

fall routine for your family

Rhythm 2: On the Road

When you are in the car with your kids it’s a great time to invest in them spiritually. When they are small, music can be a great way to instill the values of faith and the truths of scripture. As they get older, sometimes a car is the best time for spiritual conversation – no eye contact required 🙂

If you’ve got little ones, here’s a great resource to play in the car.

fall routine for your family

Rhythm 3: Going to Bed

I’ve found bedtime to be one of the easiest times to have spiritual conversations with my kids. From when they were born until now, devotional book or apps have always been a big part of bedtime routines for us. You can get devotionals for all ages. One of my favourite things is praying with our kids for their friends, teachers, and family. As they get older, I’ve found it’s often a great time for conversations as they try to “push” their bedtimes too. It’s not the length of time each night but the consistency that makes it meaningful.

fall routine for your family

Rhythm 4: Getting Up in the Morning

For some families, I know a short morning prayer before everyone heads out is a powerful time. Sometimes it’s just asking how you can pray for them throughout the day. I know some families love to put a scripture verse up on a chalkboard by the kitchen table each week. When I drove our kids to school, sometimes I’d ask for prayer requests when we jumped in the car in the morning and then pray for them on the 5-minute drive to school (with my eyes open 😉 ).

Again, the key to building spiritual rhythms is to build them into your routine. What’s powerful about it is that the more consistent it is, the more your kids realize that faith in Christ is a part of everyday life, not just something you do on Sunday or special occasions like Easter or Christmas. 

So how about it? Start simple and pick a few spiritual rhythms you want to build into your family’s routines this fall.

fall routine for your family

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Written By

Jeff Brodie

Jeff is the lead pastor at Connexus Church and he brings oversight and leadership to Connexus’ campuses. After seven years of full-time ministry experience at a multi-site church in Oakville, Jeff joined the team at Connexus in the fall of 2008 as our Executive Director, overseeing Family Ministry and organizational operations. Jeff is passionate about creating churches that unchurched people love to attend, expanding the vision, mission, and visibility of Connexus throughout Ontario, and serving the local communities that surround our campuses.

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